It's almost as if Volvo designed the Concept Estate in a lab with the express purpose of making automotive journalists giddy—it's brown, it's a shooting brake, and it's utterly beautiful. Looks like it worked.

The Concept Estate is the third in a series of Volvo concept cars that also included the Concept Coupé and the Concept XC Coupé. There's more than a hint of Volvo's 1800ES shooting brake from the 1970s, but aside from that, it's a thoroughly modern car. The 'Estate' moniker suggests the styling cues seen here will eventually make their way to future Volvo wagons, and perhaps to the next C30.

The interior is worthy of mention, too. The dash and steering wheel are ergonomic perfection, and an iPad-sized infotainment screen is nestled above the center console. It's a two-plus-two layout with four bucket seats, which sit beneath a single curved glass panel comprising both the panoramic roof and windshield.

To be honest, the production chances of a Volvo shooting brake aren't the greatest, but we'll be learning more about Concept Estate next week in Geneva.